Florida’s five-game winning streak came to an end in its lone midweek matchup against Florida Atlantic on Wednesday night, as the No. 21-ranked Owls handed the Gators their third loss of the season. A low-scoring pitching duel finally came to an end in the 10th inning, as UF couldn’t answer and fell 3-2.
Garrett Milchin took the mound for Florida (6-3) his second appearance of the season after undergoing back-to-back Tommy John surgeries. Though his outing finished as a solid one, it was shaky early on. FAU (7-1) rattled off back-to-back singles to lead off the game, and a sac-fly later in the inning gave it an early 1-0 lead.
Its starter, T.J. Stuart, didn’t allow any damage in the first, but he let one get away from him in the second. Colby Halter hit a two-run homer to retake the lead for Florida, though that wouldn’t last very long. Milchin gave up an RBI single in the third and would have allowed another run were it not for an excellent defensive play from Jacob Young.
He got the third out on a throw-out to home from left field with no cutoff, ending the threat and keeping the score tied 2-2. Milchin was pulled after the inning, allowing five hits and two runs in three innings of work.
Those were the last runs scored before extras. Hunter Cooley and Mike Entenza closed out the game without allowing any more runs. Cooley allowed two hits while Entenza allowed none. For the Gators, a committee of Trey Van Der Weide, David Luethje, Jordan Butler and Timmy Manning pitched through the ninth. Both teams stranded a handful of runners, but neither mounted a significant threat.
But at the beginning of extras, Franco Aleman entered the game for Florida, and he continued what has been a rough start to the season. After a single and a fielding error, he put runners at the corners with two outs. He gave up another single that allowed the go-ahead run to score. The Gators didn’t give up anymore, but going into the bottom of the 10th, they needed their first run since the second inning to avoid a loss.
It wasn’t meant to be, though. Halter struck out looking, and after a Jordan Carrion fly-out, UF was down to its final out with Young at the plate. Etenza’s fourth strikeout of the game put it away as Florida Atlantic earned a huge win against the Gators,
Florida returns to action this weekend for a three-game series against Florida A&M at Florida Ballpark. First pitch for the series opener on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. EST.
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